Mission: Impossible/Die Hard Alum is La Femme Nikita

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Plus Reaper creators cast lead in new pilot.

By Eric Goldman

The new Nikita has been found. The Hollywood Reporter says Maggie Q is in talks to play the title character in La Femme Nikita, their new action pilot. Maggie Q is probably best known for her role as one of Ethan Hunt's team -- who absolutely rocked a striking red dress -- in Mission: Impossible III and as Timothy Olyphant's girlfriend in Live Free or Die Hard, where she brawled with John McClane.

The CW version of the oft-told Nikita is about a new Nikita trained by the government to replace the original, who has gone rogue.

The Reporter notes that Maggie Q scoring this role would mark the highest profile role for an Asian actress on broadcast TV – the latest in a line of refreshingly diverse and color-blind casting this pilot season, which is going against the usual mold of casting white actors in the majority of lead roles.

Speaking of which, the Reporter also says Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace) has been cast as the lead in Cutthroat, the new ABC pilot from Reaper creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. Cutthroat is described by the Reporter as following, "an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel."